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Control4 The Hot Company At HITEC
The company that really caught my eye at this year's HITEC is Control4, an upstart automation systems vendor that is doing some exciting things with converged networks and interactive television. In informal chats, Control 4 was the company most frequently cited as a standout; even newly inducted hospitality technology hall of famer Fraser Hickox points to Control4 as the company that most piqued his interest this year.
(Side note: Look for my downloadable interview with Hickox in the coming days on Hotelier Radio.)
The Salt Lake City-based Control4 has been doing home technology automation for several years, and is now transferring the platform to hotels. In fact, the company will soon be announcing its first installation; I know what it is, and I'm sworn to secrecy ... but it's a big deal.
Control4 is hardly the first company to do automation, but it does it as well as any, and at price points that put it in range of 3-star properties. Its marquee product is the Zigbee-equipped Suite Systems, shown at left, which lets guests control via remote the room's lighting, temperature, curtains, audio, video, the alarm and even customizable green settings. The interface looks a bit like what Roomlinx is offering, both aesthetically and in terms of interactive guest services, like roomservice and housekeeping.
The green settings are similar to Inncom's ecoMode product in that it allows guests to opt in or out of temperature setbacks, linen reuse and even lighting percentage. It would be up to the hotel, but it could be made to let guests pick their own green preferences, in case they want to participate in green but maybe not to the degree that the hotel wants (or, I suppose, if they want to go even further than the defaults).
Guestrooms that take advantage of the full Control4 slate would have the interactive TV feature, plus a sleek 3-button interface that replaces the main light switch (controlling the exterior do-not-disturb sign, the exterior housekeeping request sign and the room's master on/off) and a small touchscreen panel for the nightstand, with all the same features as the TV version.
Control4's trademarked slogan is, "Everything works better when it works together." It's catchy, and true. Get ready to hear it a lot in the next few years.
Control4 The Hot Company At HITEC
June 19, 2008
The company that really caught my eye at this year's HITEC is Control4, an upstart automation systems vendor that is doing some exciting things with converged networks and interactive television. In informal chats, Control 4 was the company most frequently cited as a standout; even newly inducted hospitality technology hall of famer Fraser Hickox points to Control4 as the company that most piqued his interest this year.(Side note: Look for my downloadable interview with Hickox in the coming days on Hotelier Radio.)
The Salt Lake City-based Control4 has been doing home technology automation for several years, and is now transferring the platform to hotels. In fact, the company will soon be announcing its first installation; I know what it is, and I'm sworn to secrecy ... but it's a big deal.
Control4 is hardly the first company to do automation, but it does it as well as any, and at price points that put it in range of 3-star properties. Its marquee product is the Zigbee-equipped Suite Systems, shown at left, which lets guests control via remote the room's lighting, temperature, curtains, audio, video, the alarm and even customizable green settings. The interface looks a bit like what Roomlinx is offering, both aesthetically and in terms of interactive guest services, like roomservice and housekeeping.The green settings are similar to Inncom's ecoMode product in that it allows guests to opt in or out of temperature setbacks, linen reuse and even lighting percentage. It would be up to the hotel, but it could be made to let guests pick their own green preferences, in case they want to participate in green but maybe not to the degree that the hotel wants (or, I suppose, if they want to go even further than the defaults).
Guestrooms that take advantage of the full Control4 slate would have the interactive TV feature, plus a sleek 3-button interface that replaces the main light switch (controlling the exterior do-not-disturb sign, the exterior housekeeping request sign and the room's master on/off) and a small touchscreen panel for the nightstand, with all the same features as the TV version.
Control4's trademarked slogan is, "Everything works better when it works together." It's catchy, and true. Get ready to hear it a lot in the next few years.
Posted by Adam Kirby on June 19, 2008 | Comments (0)
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